'Gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh'

The gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, brought by the Magi to the newborn Jesus, were symbolic of his role as a king, a priest, and a human who would suffer and die. Gold as a symbol of a king, frankincense (an incense traditionally burned in the temple) as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death.

In the Bible, the wise men “saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Frankincense and myrrh had been in use for thousands of years and were extremely expensive in ancients times - as much or more than gold. Frankincense was mixed with various spices to form incense, and myrrh was used by the ancient Egyptians as an embalming agent. Both substances are produced from the resin of trees in the Burseraceae family. An incision is made in the trunk of the tree and the resin is drained and dried.

Frankincense comes from Boswellia trees, myrrh from Commiphora trees.

The frankincense-producing Boswellia sacra is native to Oman, Yemen and Somalia. As the source of high quality frankincense, it has been widely over harvested into modern times. Myrrh is collected from Comiphora wightii, which is native to parts of Pakistan and India. It is critically endangered due to over-harvesting.

Kingdom of Macedonia. Alexander III, 336-323 B.C. Distater

Alexander III of Macedon. Gold distater, 336-323, Macedonian mint. Very rare. About EF. Estimate: 20,000 euros. Hammer price: 70,000 euros in 2022.

A distater of Alexander III of Macedon (336-323 B.C.) was a gold coin, a larger denomination than a stater, used during his reign and shortly after his death. It featured the image of the goddess Athena on the obverse and Nike, the goddess of victory, on the reverse, with the inscription "ALEXANDROU" (of Alexander).

The distater was a gold coin weighing around 17.12 grams, representing the largest gold denomination issued under Alexander's rule. Struck during his lifetime or shortly after his death, it is a remarkable piece of ancient numismatic history. Gold distaters were issued to reward elite soldiers and finance Alexander’s campaigns. Only 3 are known in mint state.

Top Macedonian artifacts

The Golden Larnax

A larnax is a small closed coffin, or "ash-chest" used for human remains. A 4th century BC example found at Vergina in Macedonia is made of solid gold. The tomb where it was found belonged to King Philip II of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great.

The cremated bones of Alexander IV, the posthumous son of Alexander the Great who was murdered, along with his mother, Roxane, by Alexander's former general Cassander in 311/310 B.C. The ashes had been placed in a silver hydria, crowned by a golden wreath. They were found in 1978 at Vergina.

The Derveni Krater is a volute krater, found in 1962 in a tomb at Derveni, not far from Thessaloniki. Weighing 40 kg, it is made of an alloy of bronze and tin. It is dated to the late 4th century BC. Large metalwork vessels are rare survivors and the Derveni Krater is the finest known.

Alexander the Great bust. Due to its original inscription, the figure can be definitely identified as Alexander the Great. The work is a copy of a work from 330 BC attributed to Lysippos.Philippeioi, later called Alexanders were the gold coins used in Macedonia. First issued at some point between 355 and 347 BCE, the coins featured a portrait of Apollo, and on the reverse, an illustration of a biga, a Greek chariot. They had the value of one gold stater each.

The Alexander Mosaic, 100 BC, is a Roman floor mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. It depicts a battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia.

The mosaic is believed to be a copy of an early 3rd-century BC Hellenistic painting.

Rare ancient gold brings top dollar

A rare Gaius (Caligula) (AD 37-41), with Agrippina Senior. AV aureus NGC AU 4/5 – 4/5 soared to a record $216k. Another ancient that reached six figures was an unpublished Stater of Menelaus, King of Cyprus that closed at $114k. Exceedingly rare with no examples in sales archives, and apparently unknown as a full stater.

A Star Mint State Julius Caesar Aureus that ended at $78k. Mint State ancient coins with a star designation for superior eye appeal are strong performers. An Otho (15 January-16 April AD 69). AV aureus NGC Choice VF 4/5 – 3/5 made $72k. Gold aurei like this example are rare and coveted as the "key" coin in any set of the '12 Caesars'.

A Michael III "the Drunkard" (AD 842-867), with Theodora and Thecla. AV solidus (19mm, 4.42 gm, 7h). NGC MS★ 5/5 – 5/5 reached $66k. A Provincial gold Proof Pattern Ducaton (Silver Rider) 1672 PR63 NGC closed well above estimates at $180k. This coin is the only certified example known.

Brutus aureus brings $2m

An aureus of Marcus Junius Brutus sold for €1.9 million ($2 million) at a Geneva auction, far exceeding its €800k estimate. Described as “one of the most iconic and historically significant coins in all of Roman history” it is one of 17 known to exist.The coin was minted following Brutus’s 44 B.C.E. murder of Julius Caesar, and before his suicide following defeat in the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C.E.

Brutus on an Ides of March coin, issued shortly before his death.

The Battle of Philippi, involving up to 200,000 men was the largest of the Roman civil wars. It consisted of two battles in the plain west of the ancient city of Philippi. The first occurred in the first week of October. Brutus faced Octavian, and Antony's forces fought those of Cassius. Cassius comitted suicide after losing, but the overall battle was a draw. A second encounter, on 23 October, finished off Brutus's forces after a hard-fought hand to hand battle. He took his own life in turn.

Classical Greek Statues

The Artemision Bronze (God from the Sea) is an ancient Greek sculpture that was recovered from the sea off Cape Artemision, in northern Euboea. It represents either Zeus or Poseidon, is slightly over lifesize, and would have held either a thunderbolt, if Zeus, or a trident if Poseidon.

The Charioteer of Delphi is one of the best-known statues surviving from ancient Greece, and is considered one of the finest examples of ancient bronze statues. The life-size statue of a chariot driver was found in 1896 at the Sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. It is now in the Delphi Archaeological Museum.

Caryatids from Erechtheion. A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar. The Greek term karyatides literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient town of Peloponnese. The best-known and most-copied examples are those of the six figures of the Caryatid Porch of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis at Athens.

The statue of Laocoön and His Sons was excavated in Rome in 1506 and placed on public display in the Vatican. The marble figures are near life-size and the group is a little over 2m (6 ft 7 in) in height, showing the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons Antiphantes and Thymbraeus being attacked by sea serpents.

The Discobolus of Myron ("discus thrower") circa 460–450 BC. The original Greek bronze is lost but the work is known through numerous Roman copies, both full-scale ones in marble and smaller versions in bronze.

Expensive ancient coins

The record holder for an ancient Greek coin is the facing portrait gold stater of Pantikapaion, which brought $3.2m in a 2012 New York auction. Pantikapaion on the Black Sea coast of Crimea grew wealthy shipping grain from Ukraine’s fields to feed Greek cities. Weighing 9.12 grams, the coin was struck between 350 and 300 BCE. On the reverse a griffin stands over an ear of wheat, surrounded by the first three letters of the town’s name. The obverse shows the bearded head of a satyr.

Syracuse Tetradrachm of Kimon. Greek cities of Sicily during the fifth century BCE brought the art of coin die engraving to levels that would not be seen again for 1300 years. Cities like Syracuse, Akragas, Leontinoi and Naxos competed to celebrate their deities on large silver ancient coins. $3m a record for a Greek silver coin. Akragas Dekadrachm. Until it was sacked by the Carthaginians in 406 BCE, Akragas (now Agrigento) was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the Greek world. $2.4m

Dekadrachm of Athens. With only around 40 genuine examples known (and many convincing fakes), the silver dekadrachm of Athens struck c. 467-465 BCE is one of the most desired ancient coins. The obverse depicts the helmeted head of the goddess Athena. The reverse shows an owl, wings outspread. At 42.5 grams, the coin is so large that it pushed the limits of hand-hammered minting. $ 850,000

Gold Stater of Athens. A handful of gold staters and fractions were struck as an emergency wartime issue in 406-407 BCE. Four examples of the 8.6 gram gold stater are known, three of them in museums. The fourth brought $783k in 2008.